The invention concerns a monolithically integrated circuit with one or several circuit portions which are each connectible and disconnectible by respective switch elements.
A circuit of this kind is known, for example, from the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. ED-26, No. 6, June, 1979, pages 853-860, incorporated herein by reference. There a 64 K-RAM memory circuit is shown wherein, for example, defective row lines, column lines or column decoders can be separated from the remaining circuit and replaced by means of co-integrated circuit portions of the same kind. The switching elements necessary for such a substitution are comprised of polysilicon linkage elements which are interrupted as needed by means of irradiation with a laser beam. However, the thermal load which occurs in the case of the interruption of such a linkage element is a disadvantage. This cannot be limited in the case of a laser beam precisely to the location of the linkage element. Accordingly the neighboring circuitry elements must be arranged at a sufficient distance from the linkage elements in order to avoid undesired damaging of the same by means of the laser beam.